After working through an injury to play against the Oklahoma Sooners, it appears that Texas TE Ja’Tavion Sanders may be limited for the rest of the Red River Rivalry. Here’s the latest on the future NFL Draft prospect’s medical status.
Ja’Tavion Sanders Expected To Be Limited in Second Half
Sanders injured his ankle in Texas’ 40-14 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks in Week 5. But on Thursday, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian gave a positive update regarding Sanders’ status. He said that Sanders “looked great” and would be good to go on Saturday against Oklahoma.
True to his coach’s word, Sanders participated in warmups, suited up, and played at full capacity for the Longhorns in the first half. He caught zero passes, however, and was rocked on a big hit from Billy Bowman on a popped-up target that wound up being an interception.
Coming out of halftime, it was reported by Holly Rowe that Sanders would be “extremely limited” as a result of injury. Sanders did get up right away after the big hit he took from Bowman, but he might have reaggravated his ankle injury at some point.
The verbiage “extremely limited” makes it seem like Sanders is a longshot to return to the game in full capacity, as Texas may choose to play it safe with one of their more valuable offensive pieces.
Sanders’ 2024 NFL Draft Status
If Sanders is limited or sits for the rest of the Red River Rivalry, it’ll be a big loss for the Longhorns. They have a number of quality weapons alongside Sanders, including wide receivers Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy, but Sanders is the team’s most potent RAC threat and a true mismatch over the middle of the field.
Sanders, at 6’4″, 249 pounds, is inside PFN’s Consensus Top 100 for the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s an explosive, dense athlete who has a few route-running building blocks in his arsenal. But his true primary function is that of a run-after-catch threat.
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Sanders’ burst and contact balance, at his size, can overwhelm DBs, and he also has the smooth catching instincts to generate big plays up the seam.
Coming into Texas’ Week 6 contest against Oklahoma, Sanders had 13 catches for 278 yards and a score — with a 21.4 yards-per-catch average that accentuates his big-play ability.
Update (11:42): Sanders returned to the game and caught a 13-yard pass but has been on and off the field since coming back.